The ready meal sector has undergone significant change in recent years. Once valued primarily for convenience, ready meals are now expected to deliver authentic, high-quality flavours and a restaurant-style experience at home. Consumers are increasingly seeking globally inspired dishes, richer, creamier sauces, and layered taste profiles. According to Innova, three in five consumers (60%)¹ are open to trying traditional flavours with a modern twist, highlighting a growing demand for bold and innovative tastes.

From Traditional to Global Flavours

Historically, ready meals were centred around familiar flavours and formats, offering reassurance and convenience. Today, evolving consumer expectations are creating a clear market opportunity at the intersection of global flavour and functional nutrition. Younger shoppers, in particular, are driving demand for meals that combine bold, internationally inspired tastes with clear nutritional benefits. 26% of Gen Z consumers ² prefer visually striking and surprising flavour combinations, signalling openness to more adventurous profiles even in everyday meals. At the same time, over 60% of Gen Z and Millennials are actively increasing protein intake ³, demonstrating that flavour-led innovation can successfully sit alongside health and performance goals.

This convergence is already visible in the market. Retailers in the UK, such as Waitrose, have taken this on board through high-protein ready meal ranges that pair nutritional credentials with globally inspired flavour profiles. Similarly, Marks & Spencer continues to develop chef-inspired dishes influenced by cuisines such as Korean, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean, demonstrating how manufacturers can meet multiple consumer needs within a single meal solution.

Dinner has emerged as a key opportunity for experimentation, with around half of consumers identifying it as the main occasion to try new flavours, according to Innova Market Insights’ Global Flavour Trends 2026 ⁴ . For manufacturers, this emphasises the importance of providing ready meals that are both flavourful and innovative, while remaining familiar enough to fit into consumers’ comfort zones. This balance can already be seen in retailer ranges such as Tesco Finest, where globally inspired dishes are positioned as accessible upgrades for evening meals.

Ready Meals as an Out-of-Home Alternative

Ready meals are increasingly seen as an alternative to dining out. With rising living costs, many consumers are choosing to recreate restaurant-style experiences at home rather than eating out, whether for a midweek treat or special occasions. As a result, flavour, quality and a sense of occasion are becoming just as important as convenience. 74% of consumers use food and drink to improve their mood or manage stress, showing that meals now play an emotional role as well as a practical one.

This shift creates an opportunity for ready meals to deliver a more premium experience at an accessible price point. Brands such as Charlie Bigham’s and Cook have built strong propositions around rich sauces, layered flavours and chef-led recipes, positioning ready meals as a credible alternative to casual out-of-home dining while remaining rooted in convenience.

Delivering Flavour at Scale

As consumer expectations continue to rise, creating ready meals with bold, layered flavours at scale presents operational challenges. Recipes must maintain consistency across production, deliver authentic taste, and perform reliably in manufacturing environments.⁶

Paste-based flavour solutions offer a practical way to meet these demands. By providing concentrated, cuisine-led flavour, pastes enable manufacturers to build depth and richness efficiently while supporting consistency across batches and formats. Innova Market Insights 2026 highlights that flavour-forward ingredients ⁴, including sauces and pastes, are becoming increasingly central to product development, reflecting their role in delivering meals that meet modern expectations.

At Synergy, our flavour range is designed to support this approach, helping manufacturers bring global inspiration, authenticity and complexity into ready meals without introducing unnecessary operational risk.

Looking Ahead

Consumer interest in globally inspired flavours shows no sign of slowing. Bold, layered tastes are becoming more mainstream across everyday meals, while younger consumers continue to influence expectations around visual appeal, authenticity and innovation. Dinner remains a key occasion for flavour exploration, creating ongoing opportunities for manufacturers to deliver taste-led, premiumready meals that balance excitement with familiarity.

Flavour solutions that offer flexibility, consistency and global relevance will play an increasingly important role in supporting this evolution. By enabling manufacturers to respond quickly to emerging trends, paste-based solutions are well positioned to shape the next generation of ready meals.

Exploring Flavour Innovation

At Synergy, we develop high-quality flavours inspired by global cuisines and emerging taste trends. Our paste range is designed to help manufacturers enhance depth, authenticity and differentiation in ready meals, supporting innovation while maintaining consistency at scale. Collaborating with our team provides practical ways to bring globally inspired flavours to market, ensuring products meet the expectations of today’s taste-driven consumers. Get in touch.

References

1. Innova Market Insights – Top Global Flavour Trends 2026: https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/press-releases/innova-market-insights-announces-the-top-global-flavor-trends-of-2026
2. Innova Market Insights – Global Flavour Trends 2026 Summary: https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/trends/global-flavor-trends-2026
3. Innova Market Insights – Top Global Flavour Trends 2026:
   https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/press-releases/innova-market-insights-announces-the-top-global-flavor-trends-of-2026
4. Food & Drink Technology –Innova Market Insights unveils top global flavour trends for 2026: https://www.foodanddrinktechnology.com/news/63690/innova-market-insights-unveils-top-global-flavour-trends-for-2026
5. Office for National Statistics –Family Food (Financial Year Ending 2024): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-food-fye-2024/family-food-fye-2024
6. IGD – Trading up, staying in: what’s driving UK food & drink?: https://www.igd.com/articles/trading-up-staying-in-whats-driving-uk-food-drink/71372

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